Parkside Student Learning with the Raiders

It was just a year ago that the Raiders were searching for a radio station to keep Raiders games on the air. The search ended at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside’s radio station, WIPZ 101.5. It went beyond just broadcasting football games. It also created a partnership with the school where the Raiders could offer real world learning and experience opportunities for students in the Sports Management and Communications majors.

While the games got on the air, the work continued to develop the student internships. Finally, it is off and running.

On December 19, the Raiders held their annual All-County High School Football Banquet. While attending the banquet to “cover the story,” Alexis Paulsen became the first Parkside student to take part in a Raiders internship.

Paulsen, a senior at Parkside, is a communications major planning on a career in reporting after graduation. She said she was referred to the Raiders by her advisor Mary Waid, who found out about the Raiders opportunities at Parkside’s internship fair last spring.

Paulsen said her experience in pursuit of her career goals so far was limited to some interviewing and writing for classes she took. She also said she would love the opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in the field.

“The opportunity she wanted came up, she took it, and we put her to work,” said Raiders board member Tom Christensen, who is spearheading the program.

Christensen said that Paulsen did an outstanding job for the first time.

“She asked the right questions during the interviews and got the right information for the story,” he noted.

She still had more work to do. Paulsen will be co-authoring a story on the event soon to appear on the Raiders website. She will also have her interviews aired on WIPZ radio as part of the upcoming Raider Report.

Was it worth it for Paulsen? Her own words sums it up: ” I enjoyed myself so much at the banquet and cannot thank you guys enough for this opportunity,” she said. “Tonight was such a great reminder that the plans for my future are the perfect fit for me because I loved every second of interviewing and capturing the story.”

The Raiders will be continuing to work with Paulsen and other Parkside students interested in such fields as broadcast sports journalism, marketing, and team management. And, if they are really interested, how to make popcorn and hot dogs.